God dang it, it's been two years since i've posted this story. I'll explain everything at the end notes, but man to those who waited, i'm sorry it took so long for this chapter to come out and hopefully it turned out good. Without further delay, here's the last chapter. Enjoy the finale!
Chapter 3: Going Out With a Bang
"And... go!"
The crowd began to cheer as the match began. Zoey was in a battle stance, clutching her spear with her sweaty palms as she looked at her opponent with nervousness. Cameron, on the other hand, just stared back with a deadpan expression.
Readying her weapon, Zoey said "Cameron, please, I don't want us to fight as enemies. Let's talk about this!"
Cam raised his arm and charged his arm cannon. He said, angrily "We're here to fight, remember? Kiss the million dollars goodbye!"
He started shooting beams at the redhead, who managed to dodge each one of them. Zoey kept a distance between the two of them as she dodged, looking for the right time to counter. She went behind the armoured boy and shot an arrow to the back of his kneecap, causing Cam to slip. The red head took this opportunity to charge forward to restrain and attempt to reason with him, only to be thrown back by the genius's strength.
Chris announced to the finalists "Time for a close encounter of the mutant kind. Finalists, take your positions for the ultimate Total Drama showdown!" He pressed the button on a remote he held, which activated a door that opened upward, revealing to be a mutant cockroach with boxing gloves. Zoey shrieked as the roach breathe fire at her, then knocked Iron Cam against the fence, leaving him cornered.
"Cameron!" Zoey called to her friend, running to help him. Most of the eliminated contestants shout for Cam to move, or fight back.
"Duck, duck, jump, punch," Sam said, trying to help him.
Dakotazoid reminded the brunette "You supposed to be rooting for Zoey!"
He replied "They keep swapping underdog status, it's confusing!"
Cameron continued taking damage from the mutant, before trying fighting back. "Ah! Don't... don't make me use this!" Unfortunately, his fire arm wasn't working. "Ugh, no!" He fell backwards, aiming his foot rockets at the roach, then blasted it far away from the stadium, quietly apologizing to it as it flew. "Uh, sorry."
Zoey watched as the mutant flew away, and asked her ex-friend out of concern "Cam, are you okay!?"
"I'm fine," he repied nonchalantly, shrugging his arms. He aimed his left arm at the readhead, his fist sparking up and charging for another attack. "Looks like it's no more Mr. Nice Guy!"
She replied with shock "You were being nice before!?"
He shot multiple beams at her. Zoey managed to dodge and hit a few away with her spears, some hitting back at Cameron. "Ow! Armor strength eighty percent," Cam stated, looking at the armor's capacity. "Ow! Seventy-five percent!"
She did miss a few beams and one hit her shoulder and another to her stomach, sending her a few feet backwards and fell onto the ground.
"Ooh...," Brick and Sam winced from what they saw.
Everyone else gasped, concerned for the indie chick, while Scott beeped his green light and Lightning cheered for the nerd "WOOOO!".
A worried Mike called out to his girlfriend, who slowly got up. "Zoey! Are you okay!?"
"Yeah...," Zoey muttered, feeling dizzy and hurt from the attack. She didn't have time to recover, however, because she saw Cam charging towards her, attempting to hit her directly. Luckly, she dodged on time and struck him at his head with her spear. Zoey just noticed her mistake the moment she attacked. She felt completely idiotic for not realizing a metal armor would not take damage by a wooden stick with a knife taped to one end of it. Cam forcefully grabbed the stick and threw it away.
"Uh oh," Zoey said, before running away from Cam, who was chasing her.
After a minute or so, Chris became bored. "Yawn." He used his remote to open a trap door, which brought out a mutant alligator with tentacles of arms. Both finalists stopped and stared at the mutant with fright as the gator roared. The mutant grabbed Zoey and attacked her. She shrieked and tried to fight back, but the gator kept repeatedly punching her with his other arm.
"ZOEY!" Mike shouts to her, panicking at her situation.
Dawn shield her eyes with both her hands, terrified for her friend. "Oh! I can't watch!"
Chris was beside her and looked at the audience. "You really should. The ratings on this are gonna be crazy!"
Zoey was both terrified and badly hurt. "Ah! Ah, I miss my hamster!"
"Cam, help her, PLEASE!" Mike pleaded his best friend.
Looking back and forth between Zoey and the mutant, the genius wanted to let the monster finish the job for her, thinking this as karma. But one look at the indie chick's beat up face, and Mike's panicked expression, he decided to charge up his fists with energy and punched the alligator's stomach back and forth to save Zoey. "Back off, you cold-blooded reptilia! She's mine to fight!"
The gator threw Zoey across the coliseum, causing her to land and hurt her left leg. The mutant, then, attacked Cam and smacked him far against the fence, which led him to fall and land directly on his groin, shouting in pain. All the boys winced, feeling sympathy for the poor finalist. Chris also squints his eyes, protecting his own junk. "Ayayay."
Zoey, with her injury, slowly walked to her former friend and asked "Are you okay?"
"Hey, Red!" She turned her head and saw Jo yelling at her. "Pin him, pin him!"
"Oh, yeah!" Zoey remembered then looked back at Cam, who was not on the ground anymore. She looked around and saw that he was right behind her, arm cannons fully charged.
"You're going down, Zoey! Take this!"
The redhead managed to dodge in time, running far from Cameron to keep a distance between them. The armoured man kept shooting beams at her each time she dodged another. One of them hit the fence, the next hit Fang, destroying all his teeth. Chris ran off the tower as one of the beams headed his way, breaking the remote instead. The ground rumbled, startling everyone and paused the finalist's actions. A large trap door opened up in the middle of the stadium, forcing Zoey and Cam to move back. A platform ascended and arrived to the surface, revealing every mutant that appeared this season. This shocked everyone, and Scott beeped red in terror.
Both Zoey and Cameron screamed in fear.
Confessional
A nervous Lightning looked at the camera and whispered "...Larry..."
Mike sat on the toilet seat, hugging his legs in fear. "M-M-Mutant gophers!"
Robot Scott beeped red.
Every mutant went on a rampage, destroying everything in their line of sight. All the eliminated contestants ran off the bench before it got destroyed by Larry's roots. Everyone scattered, looking for safety. Meanwhile, the finalists looked at the mess in front of them.
Anne Maria getting attacked by the mutant squirrels, then by Zeke. The Mutant turtle grabbed Sam and was about to get hurt, only for Dakotazoid punching the turtle so it let him go. Dawn on her knees, scared as the tentacle tree kept punching B in the nuts. Then there's Chris whos life got saved thanks to Larry, only for the host to command the plant to terrorize the contestants.
Zoey gasped. "Our friends are in danger! We've got to save them!"
"Finally something I can agree with," Cam agreed, dashing off to save Anne Maria.
Meanwhile, Zoey saw Staci get chomped by Larry, who then grabbed ahold of Mike, Jo and Brick. Using her bow and arrow, she shot multiple arrows at the center of Larry's roots, forcing Larry to spit out Staci and drop the three to cover himself, then walked away. The red head ran up to Mike and kissed him on the lips.
Zoey asked, worringly "You three alright?"
"All better thanks to you, Zoey," Mike reassured her.
Jo was impressed for once, giving her a thumbs up. "Yea, not gonna lie, that was pretty badass, Red."
Brick and Staci nodded in agreement, making Zoey sheepish. The light-hearted moment was ruined, however, when a lightbeam hit Zoey directly, causing her to fall down.
"HEY!"
Everyone looked towards Cameron, who slowly walked towards his ex-friend with a charged attack in hand.
"Now that everyone is okay, let's finish this, shall we?" Cam said, sounding kind of scary.
Mike ran and stood between his girlfriend and best friend. "Cam, what's gotten into you!? You're not the type to do cheap shots!"
"Mike, get out of the way," Cam told him. "You're not suppose to interfere."
"Iron Cam is right, Mike," Chris agreed, getting excited. "Interfering counts for disqualification, plus do you realize how crazy the ratings will be!?"
Mike refused to move. "Not till I know why he's being so ruthless. This is a friendship finale, you two are supposed to be friends!"
"Well guess what, Mike?" Cam spoke. "It's because of Zoey we're not friends anymore!"
"What are you talking about!?"
"He's right, Mike..."
Zoey grunted in pain as she slowly got up, using her spear, that she found after Cam threw it away, to lift herself. Her boyfriend looked at her in both worry and confusion. "I was the one who hurt Cam, he has every right to hate me." Seeing most of the group still confused, she confessed what happened in the last two challenges in detail, about her becoming Commando Zoey to beat Scott and thinking only about herself as ditched Cameron to win the challenge. Everyone, minus Cameron, Lightning, Scott and Chris was surprised to hear the normally apologetic indie chick could go full on ruthless. Mike was also conflicted, not sure whether to side with either his girlfriend, or best friend. Lightning vouched for the redhead, claiming that she was 'a real poor sport'. She looked at her ex-friend and apologized once more. "Cameron, I really am sorry for what i've done. I know what i'm saying now doesn't excuse my actions before and you probably won't want to be friends again, but I wanna win this just as much as you do, that much hasn't changed. I won't forfeit nor will I make it easy for you." She put her bow away on her back and readied herself with spear on both hands. She stared in determination and said "You told me before that all finales were physical challenges, so how's about I give you an intellectual challenge instead? When I finish with you, your whole life will be an intellectual challenge! Get ready, Cam, i'm going all out! So you better, too!"
Cameron had a poker face on his monitor, not giving away any emotions whatsoever. After a minute, he lowered his brows and went onto a fighting stance. Chris gave the cue that the finale will continue, and Chef motioned for everyone to gather near the tower so the finalists have room to fight. The interns blew the horns, indicating the fight resumed. Zoey charged forward, striking against Iron Cam left and right, aiming at the joints for more damage. Her speed was faster than Cameron assumed, using his arms to shield his front to prevent further damage to his helmet. He quickly flew backwards to create distance and shot multiple beams. Zoey spun her spear fast like a windmill, making her own shield to block the attacks. Using her bow and arrows, she set the tips on fire and shot back, some hitting the braniac's armour, causing it to heat up and malfunction. The crowd cheered, Mike being the loudest, as the battle escalates. Zoey continued shooting arrows as Cam tries dodging each one.
Cameron winced at the pain, struggling to keep up his armour strength. "Ow! Armor strength at twenty percent! Fifteen! Dang it, Zoey's fire power is stronger than I anticipated." He gasped, an idea coming to him. "That's it! Cameron to armor one! Convert all power to create an inferno outbreak!"
All of a sudden, a long buzzing sound came from the bubble boy, pausing Zoey's actions. After a few seconds, the sound comes to a halt, and Cam's face disappeared from his monitor, his armour slowly glowing bright red. The buzz sound came back, louder than before.
Worry crawling up Zoey's gut, she asks "Wha- what's going on!? Cameron?"
"Oh nothing," he simply stated. "I just made myself into a literal time bomb, which should go off ANY second..."
"WHAT!?" The peanut gallery shouted in shock. Zoey widened her eyes, indicating she realized what that meant. She turned around and shouted at everyone to get down and find cover quickly. The eliminated contestants, interns, Chef and Chris managed to find safety. Zoey, however, wasn't so lucky, as she was about to run off, the armour beeped rapidly and Cameron exploded, taking out Zoey in the process. The safely guarded group ducked behind the trash pile and narrowly avoided injuries as the impact came their way. Dakotazoid also used her body as a shield to protect everyone. After a minute or so, the explosion died down and the entire coliseum was surrounded by smoke.
"ZOEY, CAMERON!" Mike screamed in terror, calling out for his close friends in hopes they respond. When they didn't, the multiple boy didn't hesitate as he ran from the pile to search for them.
"Mike, wait!" Dawn shouts, running after him. Joe, Brick, Sam and Lighting followed suit as the rest stayed behind, walking out of their hiding place. With the smoke being so thick, it was hard to find both finalists. Luckily, Chef found a large fan in the trash pile and turned it out, slowly removing the fog. As the smoke disappeared, everyone could see two silhouettes near the entrance. As the got closer, the fog dispersed and it revealled Zoey lying face down on the dirt and Iron Cam still standing but unresponsive. Mike wanted to help Zoey up but Dawn grasped his hand, telling him to wait. Cam started swaying back and forth.
"Guys, look!" Sam shouted
Cam swayed a bit longer, everone not knowing if he'll fall backwards or forward. It was the latter as he fell forward and was on top of Zoey. The contestants were still in shock, until Brick said "...one."
"two...," Lightning continued.
"...three!" Mike finished off, surprised at this revelation.
"HE'S DONE IT!" Chris shouts as he came over on his chariot. "He's done it! Cameron has done it! Cameron wins Total Drama: Revenge of the Island and the million dollar prize!"
Everyone shouted in joy. However, Cameron and Zoey were still not responding. Seeing this, Dawn said "Yes, while that is great news, can these two please get medical attention now!?"
Chris looked at the finalists and agreed. "Yeeaaaa we should probably see if they're not dead."
With that said, the medical team came over to the two and took them back to the medical bay. The team were quick to remove Cam's suit and tended to his wounds. Surprisingly, his body didn't scar from the armour heating up, but he did receive multiple bruises on all his joints. Zoey, on the other hand, did get some scarring on her arms and stomach. There was also bruising on her back from Cam's fall impact. It took about a couple hours for both of them to heal and rest. Mike wanted to visit them but the team were busy, so he stayed back at the cabins with the rest, Sam and Dawn reassuring him they'd be okay.
It was around night time when Cameron slowly woke up. His eyes were a bit blurry without his glasses on, so it took him longer to adjust to his surroundings. When he did, he noticed that he was in the medical tent, a white drape on his left side, separating him from the other patient. He looked down and saw he was covered in white patches and white bandages around his knees and elbows. He was glad he installed heatproof padding inside his armour in case this happened. He looked to his left and slid the drape to the side, revealing Zoey still sleeping on her cot. She had a wrapped bandage around her head and stomach, a white patch on her left cheek and a cast on her right arm and left leg. Cam felt sympathetic looking at her. He didn't mean to take it this far, he was just upset by her friend's betrayal. Before coming to Total Drama, he's never made a single friend before. His mom putting him in a bubble didn't make it any easier, of course. But there were times when his mom arranged playdates in his home so he can try to make friends, but they either made fun of them or just left right away, lowering his self-esteem further. As soon as he came onto the show, he made his first friend. He was glad he met Mike, and was even more glad when Zoey wanted to be friends too. However, the moment Zoey left him for dead, he felt something in his chest he'd never felt before, betrayal and anger. Cameron doesn't get angry easily, so he doesn't control it well. He sighed and just stared at the sky, not noticing Zoey waking up.
After a minute, Cam heard her voice. "Cameron?"
Looking shocked, he whipped his head to the side to see Zoey sitting up, looking both sad and tired. Cam slowly sat up and looked face to face with the red head. "Yea?"
"How are you feeling?"
The bubble boy looked sad and responded. "To be honest, i've been better. What about you?"
Zoey faced down and said "...tired."
The two haven't said anything for a few minutes, not knowing what to say.
"I'm sorry!"
Both looking at each other in surprise when they said that at the same time.
"Why the heck are you sorry?" Zoey asked. "I'm the one who ruined our friendship and nearly got you killed."
"I'm pretty sure we're even the moment I caused that explosion," he responded. "I didn't mean to injure you. I mean, I wanted you to feel my pain, but I didn't want to take it this far." Zoey looked up and stared at Cam as he continued. "Zoey, you and Mike are one of the first friends i've ever made in my entire life. I always thought we'd never get into a scuffle or hurt each other, that we'd be the best of friends. But the moment you left me to be eaten by Larry..." His voice started breaking and got emotional. "I felt hurt, Zoey! Both physically and emotionally. I expected that move from Lightning but not from one of my friends! I wanna forgive you, Zoey, I really do, but I don't know if I can yet."
Cameron sniffled, struggling to keep the tears from coming out. Zoey saw this and layed her left hand on her chest. "Cameron, I don't expect you to forgive me. To be completely honest with you, I don't think I can forgive myself. At first, after Mike got eliminated, I was upset and wanted revenge on Scott. But when Chef shot me down into that pit, I realized I couldn't play nice anymore. After Scott was eliminated, I wanted both of us to make it to the finale together, and still play hard ball. But then there was a point during the last challenge where the prize and my inner commando got the better of me, and I never realized until after you gave me that reality check that I hurt the only friend I had left in this competition. So for that, with all my heart, i'm sorry, Cameron."
Cameron couldn't take it anymore and started crying, Zoey crying not long after. Both of them kept apologizing as if they'd never see each other again. After what felt like forever, the waterworks stopped and they both smiled at each other.
"By the way," Zoey spoke. "I'm pretty sure you won the game."
Cam was confused. "What makes you say that?"
"Well if my injured back was anything to indicate, i'd say you fell on top of me when we were both unconscious."
He blinked a couple of times, before realization set in. He blushed in embarrassment. "Oh god! Sorry, Zoey!"
Zoey just laughed at his embarrassment. Cam should've felt offended, but he couldn't and just laughed with her.
At that moment, the tense atmosphere surrounding the bay died down. It may not seem like it, but the two were on a path to mending their friendship.
Confessional
Cameron looked happy and proud of himself. "To a boy in a bubble to a million dollar winner? I wouldn't believe it myself if it wasn't all on tape! I feel like now that Zoey and I talked things over, despite me still not forgiving her just yet, I think we're on good terms right now!"
Zoey was also happy, swinging her lower legs back and forth in content. "I'm happy Cam won, he deserves it! I'm just also glad we're okay for now. I just hope Mike isn't too worried over us." She chuckled at that thought.
Unsurprisingly, when morning arrived, Mike ran over to the medical bay and hugged his girlfriend and best friend really tight. He sobbed non-stop, crying out how happy he was they were both okay. Cameron looked like he was suffocating while Zoey looked uncomfortable, patting Mike's back with her left hand in reassurance that they're okay. She also asked him politely to let them go, explaining that Cam couldn't breathe. Her boyfriend quickly realized and let go, apologizing a lot. The small group outside the tent, Dawn, Sam, Brick, Joe and surprisingly Lightning chuckled at the sight before walking in. Lightning looked at Zoey at told her that despite what happened at the swamp challenge, she redeemed herself in the finale and that she was alright in his book. Zoey smiled and thanked him, then heard Dawn point out that both Cameron and her auras are both happier. Cam and Zoey looked at each other for a moment, silently agreeing they are good for now.
Later in the day, all the contestants, minus Cameron, are on a speedboat with Chef. Chris was on the dock with the injured braniac, holding the briefcase.
"Congratulations, Cameron. To the winner goes the spoils. One million dollars in cold. Hard. Cash."
"Thanks!" Cameron happily took the prize money... only to fall down from how heavy it was. He slowly, but surely got up and carried the money to the front of the boat. "And thanks for all your support. It made all the difference."
Anne Maria decided to ask him "So, what are you gonna spend it on first? Hair or shoes? Because both need a lot of work."
Sam reminded her of Cam's situation. "Didn't you hear his mom? He needs the cash to pump up his bubble."
"Well, I was going to use the bubble to heal my shattered body," Cameron began explaining. "But after surviving without any crippling injuries, I don't need to go back to my bubble ever again!" Everyone cheered for him for being more independent. "And I couldn't have done it without all of you, so... I'm gonna spend it all on you guys instead!"
Everyone cheered in delight by Cameron's charity. Cameron walked over to the boat, Lightning and Sam helping him in.
"Hello, world's biggest television and every game system in existence!" Sam pumped both his fists up in the air.
Jo spoke out loud "I can finally open my dream gym!"
"Fashion school, here I come!"
Everyone, including Chris and Chef, stared at Brick in shock.
"Yeah, you heard me." Brick crossed his arms and defended himself, before the boat started leaving the island.
Chris looked at the camera and began his outro. "Well, that's it for another season. Except for one last surprise I hid on their boat. First rule of show biz. Always go out with a bang." Unfortunately for him, instead of the boat exploding, the dock did and Chris fell into the water. Everyone in the boat cheered as the speedboat sped away. The camera dramatically panned to Chef driving the boat, and he smiled back evil y at the camera. "CHEF!" The host cleared his throat before continuing. "Until next time, I'm Chris McLean. And this has been Total. Drama. Revenge of the Island!"
"You're busted, McLean!"
Chris looked around him in panic and realized he was surrounded by the RCMP boats and helicopters. "Huh? For what?!"
The RCMP Guard shouts in his bullhorn "Creating an environmental disaster! That's what! Residents of Wawanakwa, your island is now under government protection. You're hereby quarantined! Prepare for heavy scrub detamination!"
Chris shouted in anger and agony as he was being sprayed with disinfecting foam. The cheering continued from the speedboat as Chef and the contestants sped away from the island, everyone getting their happy ending.
So here's the thing, i've never actually forgotten about this story. At first I was having writer's block, but after a while I actually lost interest in Total Drama. It didn't help that All-Stars and Pahkitew Island were so bad. I did watch some episodes of Total Dramarama, but it honestly wasn't the same. So i've decided to put this story on hold. I didn't want to half-ass this story and put up a crappy ending. I wanted the last chapter to be worth waiting and when I watched the 2023 reboot, I actually felt inspired to finish this. It took a lot of writing and editing, tried not to make the characters too ooc and I feel happy with how it turned out! Hopefully you guys enjoyed it as well! Anyways, thank you all for reading this story and don't forget to leave a kudos! Peace out!